September 22, 2006
My problem with adhesions started because of a historectomy. Problems
with benign cysts which caused severe bleeding for 6 months. They only
took one ovary. the second ovary then produced a cyst which wrapped
around part of my small intestine, twisting it into a figure 8 and
adhesions from the hystorectomy latched on to another part of my small
intestine and a serious tug of war began. I suffered for three years
with abdominal pain and vomitting and it was consistently misdiagnosed.
Finally it became so bad that I could not stop vomitting. Within four
days time I went to three hospitals and the first two said I had
gastrointeritis. (the second one never even saw me beyond triage--they
were backed up and my problem "wasn't that serious". After waiting for
12 hours, I left because i could no longer sit in the chairs and I
almost collapsed on the floor. I was finally diagnosed at the third
hospital and rushed in for emergency surgery. The surgeon told me that
I was very close to death by the time he finally operated. I now have a
scar that runs from my sternum to my pubic bone that has been re-opened
several times to remove more scar tissue/adhesions which continue to
cause small bowel obstructions. The NG tube is worse than the
surgery...ouch. The last time I was in the hospital and the labs
clearly showed I had a small bowel obstruction and I had to endure the
horrible NG tube. The doctor I saw actually wrote that I was
"malingering" that is faking it and showed signs of drug seeking
behavior. Yeah, I wanted drugs! It hurt like heck and i was throwing up
bile. I can only take tylenol and demerol. the only 2 pain drugs I'm
not allergic to. And I had an full blown small bowel obstruction. After
I read the report that he wrote in my file, I seriously wanted to put
and NG tube up his nose and then ask him if that was something he would
do for a little demerol. I still fail to see how i could have faked the
lab results.
It is almost impossible to find anyone who understands what living with
this is like. I asked the doctors to put a zipper where my 14 inch scar
is since every time they cut me open it just forms more scar tissue.